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Positive Aging YouTube channel's first pole, a two-minute illustrated video and blog story.

June 17th, 2020

Positive Aging YouTube channel

I experimented and tried something out, on a new YouTube channel for positive aging stories. I'd love to hear what you think in the YouTube comments. https://youtu.be/FATbrNntllQ It's a short 2-minute video. #age #AgeOfAgeingBetter Reg and I had fun remembering this moment.

Managing duel creative professions

June 17th, 2020

Managing duel creative professions

I'm striving to organize my twin, demanding muses. Writer muse gets day time until 8pm. Artist muse gets the night. So turning computer off & putting on the art smock NOW. :-)
My vlogs are where both muses talk to each other.
May artist author website is http://www.RynShell.com

#art #Flowers

Rizal Occidental Mindoro The Philippines

October 22nd, 2017

Rizal Occidental Mindoro The Philippines

Rizal is the birthplace of good friend of mine, Grant Leishamn. I designed this book cover for him. aI have also had the opportunity to paint in these locations of natural beauty and to enjoy the unsophisticated lifestyle.

Rizal is a suburb of Mindoro which is often called, the “forgotten island”. This is what my friend Grant Leishman has to say about Rizal.

"It seems like time has stood still there and much of the twenty-first century has passed it by. The roads, even the main road down the western coast of the island were appalling, the first time we traversed it, with enormous potholes and roadworks everywhere. I’m pleased to say it has improved over the last few years, but still, the juxtaposition between the hustle and bustle of a modern, westernised city like Manila and the rural backwater that is Rizal, is something that always strikes me."

A number of Grant Leishman's novels have been set in the Philippines, and one of his stories; Just A Drop in the Ocean is set in the tiny village of Rizal in Occidental Mindoro.

"Geographically, Rizal covers quite a large area, from the coastline of the West Philippine Sea, right through to the base of the spine of mountains that splits Mindoro in two. Rizal, although technically listed as a third-class municipality, is, rather than one single town, a collection of small villages separated by valleys as you head from the coast to the mountains. The village where my wife grew up is actually called Rizal, but to distinguish it from the other parts of greater Rizal, it is often referred to as Limlim.

"To get to Limlim from the main road is no easy task. It involves climbing two fairly large hills and dropping down into the subsequent valley.

​"The road is predominately metal, and although drivable in the dry season, when the wet season hits, it can quickly become a quagmire and impassable.

"Nothing, it seems, has changed much in fifty odd years. It really is like a time warp has kept this serene valley the way it has always been. Oh yes, I know there are a few cars around and many residents now have satellite television, but still, there is an ambiance and atmosphere about the picturesque place, that I’ve rarely seen elsewhere.

"The locals are hard-workers, with many still surviving by semi-subsistence farming and there is little time for the pleasures of life for these people. My father-in-law at 78, still visits and works on his farm regularly and every morning he fulfills his daily routine of sweeping up the fallen leaves from the large property, before burning the rubbish. There is a real rhythm to life there, that is still dictated by the rise and fall of the sun and the seasons.

"There is not a lot of spare money for luxuries or celebrations, so when there is one, the people tend to go all out to enjoy it. Weddings, Significant Birthdays, the Annual Town Fiesta and yes, even funerals are reasons to relax, let loose and imbibe freely. If you’re lucky, there will even be a goat or a pig donated to roast over the open fire. Although I’m not a great fan of watching the poor animal being slaughtered and prepared for the fire, I am one of the first in the line when the food is ready to eat. There is nothing quite as delightful as Lechon Baboy (roasted pig) cooked over an open fire, with the succulent fat, the crispy skin, and the, oh so luscious meat. It’s definitely not good for the waistline, but oh, so good for the soul."

Grant Leishman lives in the middle of Metro Manila, a thriving, bustling city of some fifteen million people. The traffic is horrendous, the heat is stifling and the throngs of people, at times, overwhelming. Aside from being an author he is a skilled proof reader. I'd be happy to pass along his contact details if you need a proof reader. You can contact me by joining my newsletter mailing list.

Again, in Grant's words:
"To have a place to head, like Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, to unwind, to relax and to just be, is one of the true benefits of living here. Yes, I love the beaches here and there are none of those in Limlim, but what there is, is peace, tranquillity and a pace of life that we’ve all but, sadly forgotten.

Oh yes, there are also one million mosquitoes per square inch there (just kidding), but for me, our regular trips “home” to see Papang and the rest of the family, help keep me grounded and sane. For me, it’s like a week at a health spa and I return to Manila, invigorated and ready to face the battle once again. We all need that place of respite, where we can let it all hang out and just be. For me, it is Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, the Philippines."
End quote.

My art career have provided wonderful opportunities to travel and meet with other creative people.
I loved creating the cover for Grant Leishman's novel, A Drop in the Ocean.
Book cover design is one of my specialties.

Best wishes, and happy creativity to you.:-)

My Australian rural-lit books are available at http://www.rural-lit.com and you will discover Grant Leishman's novels set in the Philippines on Amazon.


Cheers, Ryn.

Do You Get Ink on Your Hands?

October 22nd, 2017

Do You Get Ink on Your Hands?


I have blogged on the InkPour.com website about how dye absorption through the skin is one of the reasons why those working in the industries that use dyes have a higher prevalence of bladder cancer than the general population. In those industries, the unions and the health inspectors ensure safe as possible handling.

Artists do not have health inspectors checking how they work, so they have a responsibility to themselves and their family to use best safety practices. You don't 'catch' cancer by getting dye on your skin today.

You cannot see the effects of gradual poisoning. The accumulative effect of getting dye on your skin will predispose you to get certain types of cancer, and that might take ten years to show up. You won't see the ill effects while you are playing in your art mediums.

Just don't deliberately put known poisons and carcinogens on your skin for the love of art, when you can so easily avoid doing so.

On this subject, I hope no one pours resins or acetone in the house with children breathing the air, or fires a ceramic kiln in the laundry. It's unfortunate that safety instructions are often confined to the small print where art materials are concerned.

Have you experienced unsafe working environments in art studios or art schools?
I recall many silica dust filled ceramic classes and students drinking coffee while working with cadmium glazes.

Art is such a joy; we need to protect ourselves to ensure we have an extended life to enjoy it.

I would love reading your comments on this topic.

Best wishes, and happy creativity to you.

My Australian rural-lit books are available at http://www.rural-lit.com 
Cheers, Ryn.

A Portrait of Baby Boy, and Life as a Creative Senior

October 21st, 2017

A Portrait of Baby Boy, and Life as a Creative Senior

This portrait of David is one that I painted in pastel pencils during my years as the resident artist at the award-winning Buninyong Gallery near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.

The wonderful things about being a trained artist and author are that your talent will earn you an income no matter where you reside in the world. I also visited San Fransisco on several occasions, taking commissioned Australian landscape to clients there and visiting such beautiful locations to paint as Yosemite in California, and then heading off with my husband and young family to paint in the islands of the South Pacific.

Art and writing have combined to provide me with a wonderful career which involved meeting wonderful people and visiting places most only dream of seeing.

It would be harder for genuine trained artists these days as computer technology makes it difficult for art collectors to tell the difference between an actual painting and paint or pen touched up photocopy.

I now video myself creating my art as proof of authenticity, or I'll paint a work in a masterclass situation as a demonstration for other artists. I'll always have a witness to confirm my work is art and not a photo manipulation. I love to see the brushwork and the process of creating the art. I love art that sets itself aside from a photo and becomes so much more. Even so, I've enjoyed all of the realist portrait commissions I've painted during my gallery exhibiting years.
A realist portrait such as this would have represented a month's work. Writing a novel, or a series of novellas takes me a year. Tonight I'm working on a small portrait of a caboodle using alcohol ink pens.

As I am a septuagenarian and settled into my rural retreat with its expansive views across the Goulburn Valley in Australia, I now have the luxury of writing the novels I desire to and not what publisher's demand, and I can paint for the sheer joy of the creative process and please myself if I'm choosing to accept commissions or not. I tell younger people who are struggling with a mortgage and putting their children through university, that life will get easier. I've loved every stage of my life, but these. my senior years are the most rewarding.

Life is more straightforward and infinitely enjoyable after sixty years of hard work which got me to this stage where I could retire comfortably if I chose. I choose to keep working. I have loved, and I still love every moment of my creative life. Yes, life is good.

Happy creativity.

My Australian rural-lit books are available at http://www.rural-lit.com
Cheers, Ryn.


Touring, Painting and Exhibiting Around Australia

October 21st, 2017

Touring, Painting and Exhibiting Around Australia

I regularly travelled through this sheep grazing district when returning south from an annual art exhibition and painting tour that began in Adelaide at Easter, then returned home for a mother's Day exhibition in Ballarat at our Buninyong Gallery.

Following these South Australian and Victoria exhibitions, I packed a trailer with art and took the exhibition inland on tour through Charleville, Cloncurry, Mount Isa, Alice Springs, Katherine and in Darwin. Any stock that I had remaining after the Darwin show, I donated to charity. Then I'd go to the Darwin airport to pick my husband Reg up, who had been working hard, running the Buninyong Gallery while I had fun on tour, and we holidayed all the way home, taking in the wonders of the Northern Territory of Australia.

Sigh, wonderful memories. We would tour through the outback seeing all the national parks and wilderness places.

Wilmington was close to where we turned east to return to, and re-open our Buninyong Gallery for Spring exhibitions, with an exhibition in the cities of Sydney or Melbourne close to Christmas.

We followed this run for many years, loving the lifestyle, and occasionally I'd exhibit and paint further afield in the United States. Eager to discover Western Australia, we closed Buninyong Gallery and took our art exhibiting and painting tour on a wider circuit of the country for many years, before retiring from personal appearances at art exhibitions,so that I could write full-time and complete my novels.

The painting is in naturally soft, early morning in the bush tones. Museum quality prints are available.
Can you hear the magpie chorus I listened to as I camped here for a few days while painting this?
The original has sold. I was delighted that it has gone to a long time collector of my originals where I know that it will be treasured. As 'retired from meeting clients face-to-face, one of my adult daughters arranged the viewing and assisted the client make her selection from the half-dozen available works. Having grown family following your footsteps is terrific. One of my granddaughters is a talented author.

Best wishes, and happy creativity to you.:-)

My Australian rural-lit books are available at http://www.rural-lit.com
Cheers, Ryn.

La Jolla Beach, Southern California, Original Artwork, Ryn Shell

October 21st, 2017

La Jolla Beach, Southern California, Original Artwork, Ryn Shell

The image shows the step-by-step creation of the Life Is a Beach Artwork.

If I knew how to add multiple images to these blogs or even the art demonstration videos I would. If any reader can advise me how I could do that, I'd be most appreciative. You can see some of my step-by-step artwork at http://www.InkPour.com and http://gray-nomad.com

I am not sure who had more fun creating this original artwork, me or the a local from La Jolla Beach, Southern California who watched me create this original artwork. Designer giftware and museum quality prints are now available from this art work.

Best wishes, and happy creativity to you.:-)

My Australian rural-lit books are available at http://www.rural-lit.com
Cheers, Ryn.

1960s Gymkhana

October 20th, 2017

1960s Gymkhana

Life was easy-going in the 1960’s and community events, especially in inland country towns were only lightly regulated. It was easy to hold a community event. There were few, if any, licences to apply for and little likelihood of a safety inspection.

For visitors to that town, an unfenced, roadside, grassy-strip without a “Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted” sign and the sound of a running creek just a few yards away, with a perfect log seat, was the perfect invitation to wander over and sit down. I did just that, and got out my sketch book and watercolours to create the on-site studies for the larger. studio completed, painting at the top of this blog post.

There was a Gymkhana in the town. I sat on the log, blissfully content painting in the open-air. In the distance I could hear a man on a megaphone instructing the riders. I tuned the noise out, focused on my painting, seeking solitude, with just me and the empty paddock, (field) and the creek as my view.

It became harder to block the noisy man and that megaphone out. He was shrieking into it.

His screams finally got through my tranquil mood — and at last I heard:
“Girl on the Horse Jump! GET OFF! The horses are coming!"

~~~

I have illustrated this with one af my favourite watercolours of the area.
Prints and gifts are available in the store.

I travel extensively to draw inspiration for my paintings and writing from life experience.
You will discover my Australian rural-lit novels at www.rural-lit.com

​Ryn Shell.

Mr. Laurie Pendlebury, my first art tutor of significance.

October 20th, 2017

Mr. Laurie Pendlebury, my first art tutor of significance.

L. Scott Pendlebury or Laurence Scott Pendlebury (seen above with student, c early 1950s) (21 April 1914 – May 1986) was an Australian landscape and portrait artist and my first serious teacher.

In 1951, after working full-full time for three years while homeschooling myself, from the age of eight, I arrived to enrol in tuition from Mr. Laurie Pendlebury (four times Archibald Prize finalist), and seen here with a student working on portrait painting, circa 1950. He told me (age eleven) that he did not teach children. I looked him in the eye with determination and announced, "I am not a child."
I then told him that I had earned every penny of my tuition fee myself, and he accepted me into this class.

Pendlebury won the Wynne Prize four times for his landscape paintings with The Chicory Kiln, Phillip Island (1956), Constitution Dock, Hobart (1957), Old Farmhouse (1960, shared with John Perceval's Dairy Farm, Victoria) and Road to Whistlewood (1968). He was a finalist in the Archibald Prize twenty-four times, including Nornie Gude (Artist) (1944) and Anne and Drew Pendlebury (actress and musician respectively) (1979). His work was presented in the state galleries of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. Pendlebury worked at Swinburne Technical College as an instructor from 1946 to 1963 and then as head of the art school until his retirement in 1974. He died in May 1986, aged 72.

Thank you, Laurie, you were my first high standard art tutor. Today, nearing 71 myself, I return to teaching fine art from my private retreat in the Goulburn Valley, using the modern convenience of online connection.

I travel extensively to draw inspiration for my paintings and writing from life experience.
You will discover my Australian rural-lit novels at www.rural-lit.com

​Ryn Shell.

Firefighting. Career and volunteer training and roles

October 20th, 2017

Firefighting. Career and volunteer training and roles

I am in awe at the courage of and admire for, the men and women who serve the community as firefighters.

Have you ever volunteered for service with the Country Fire Authority, or considered a career as a professional firefighter?

Volunteer CFA members are not only those who fight the fires; there is an extensive range of interesting jobs, volunteers can do.

There are many ways that Volunteers can make a valuable contribution to the community. CFA welcomes different people with different skills to meet a wide variety of community needs.

Firefighting Roles

Firefighter

Incident Controller

Pump Operator

Crew Leader

Communication roles

Special skilled roles including chainsaw operation and breathing apparatus

Non-Firefighting Roles

Brigades In Schools presenters & other community education programs

Brigade administration roles

Administration support roles in Incident Control Centres

Leaders for Juniors program

Media and public relations

Fundraising activities

Community events

I once was part of a crew who went into a valley community threatened by fire coming down the mountain towards them, to collect all the dogs we could fit in an ambulance so we could take them to board in fire safe areas. I played a small role, in the bushfire management, but one that gave me enormous satisfaction.

Often volunteers wish to move on and become professional.
Career Firefighting.

The Country Fire Authority in Australia is currently seeking applications from people interested in becoming career firefighters.

Australia and the USA have a cooperative agreement to share fire-fighting resources.


Experienced firefighters over 24 years of age may be interested in Fire Service Training, the online Bachelor of Arts in Fire Service Administration through the Lewis University in Illinois, U.S. Lewis University has been named one of the “Best Colleges “by U.S. News and World Report for five consecutive years.

The online Bachelor of Arts in Fire service Administration from Lewis University is an ideal way for career firefighters to advance their careers by gaining management skills specific to the field. Training is available to international students, with students from thirty different countries, represented on campus.

We had a dream drive from Hervey Bay to Marlborough, Queensland, Australia today.

Here I am adding to the graffiti mural at the invitation of the Marlborough Hotel tonight. I'm adding my name to the internal walls of this country pub which has become my office for the evening.

Travellers can camp overnight in the hotel carpark for a modest cost.

I travel extensively to draw inspiration for my paintings and writing from life experience.
You will discover my Australian rural-lit novels at www.rural-lit.com

 

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